Railway or transportation ticket.



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PATENTED JAN. 31. 1905.. LA. GALLAHAN.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3,1903.

1No. 781,267*I oruga.

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UNIT STATES Patented January 31, h1905. ,j

PATENT OFFICE.

'y LOUIS A. OALLAHAN, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK,`ASSIGNOR OF TWO- THIRDS TO JOHN FRANEY AND GEORGE HENRY, OF BUFFALO,

NEW YORK.

RAILWAY OR TRANSPORTATION TICKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 781,267, dated January 31, 1905.

Application filed July 3, 1903. Serial No.`164,185.

To LZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, Louis A. .OALLAHANg a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway or Transportation Tickets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway, Steamship, or similar transportation tickets,and more particularly to such as are issued for a retur trip ata reduced rate.

The primary object of my invention vis toY provide a ticket whereby its useby any person other than the original purchaser can be easily detected and wherein provision is made to cause a wrongful holder to commit forgery or abandon his trip on such ticket by allowing the conductor or other authorized person to cancel the same.

Further objects are to provide a ticket with a negotiable rebate-check which can be cashed by the issuing ticket-office or by any bank, said check being also designed to be cashed at any time during the trip by any authorized person or by the agent authorized to validate and also to prevent the sale ofthe return portion of the ticket to a ti cket-broker by the use of the return-tracer. X

My invention is particularly applicable to reduced-rate or excursion return-tickets, but can be used in connection with any other style of ticket permitting its adaptation.

Heretofore reduced-rate return-or excursion tickets have been issued requiring the validation of the return portion thereof by the joint agency or by the ticket agent of the road over which the start of the return trip .is made by simply applying the agents stamp to the rear side thereof, and therefore such tickets can be easily sold to a ticket-broker before or after validation, as no provision is made for detecting a ticket presented by a second party and no barrier is provided to prevent the use of a kticket after the same is validated. All of these objections and many other objections now found in red uced-rate return or excursion tickets I overcome by providing a negotiable check, a going tracer, and a returntracer Tin addition to the usual contract and passage-coupons.

The invention in its preferred form is illustrated in the drawings, in which- Figures l to t are face views'of portions of the ticket divided to properly illustrate the same within the limits of the sheet, Figs. l and 4 showing the upper and lower ends, respectively, of the ticket, while Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the intermediate portions. Fig.- 5 is a rear view of the check portion of the ticket. Fig. 6 is a face View of a ticket, showing the various parts connected.

1n describing the invention in detail We will assume its being used by a railroad company..

The ticket consists of the agents stub A, which is retained by the lissuing-olfice and whichis designed to receive the signature of the purchasentheusual contract portion YB,

which specilies the conditions under which` the ticket is sold, the usual passage-coupons C, which are one or more for the going-trip and and one or more for the return-trip, accord-- ing to the number of roads over which the trip is made or the number of sections in a road;

Between the passage-coupons for going and those for returning a return-tracer D is provided. Below the going-passage coupons a going-tracerv E is provided, and located between the agents stub A and the contract is a negotiable rebate-check F. For convenience the various parts of the ticket are arranged as'designated; but they may be otherwise arranged, if desired, or parts thereof may be omitted, as may be found desirable. Each portion of the ticket is provided with a number or with characters which correspond with the number or characters on every other portion of the ticket, whereby the parts can be conveniently compared and assembled.

In describing the use of the ticket we will suppose that a person wishes to go from a point V to WTashington, D. O., upon the Lehigh Valley railway via the Baltimore and Ohio railway. He purchases a ticket at V, at which place the agent requests the purchaser to sign his or her name to the contract portion of the ticket, as is customary, which he then witnesses, and also to the agents stub. The issuing agent will then make the check payable to the purchaser, and on the going-tracer he designates the sex of the purchaser, the destination, the number of the train on which the purchaser shall leave, and the time and date when he shall leave. The ticket is sold at a certain price and under certain conditions agreed to by the purchaser and the company issuing the ticket, one of the conditions being that the said company shall pay the purchaser a certain rebate designated on the check forming part of the ticketsay, for example, one dollar-or, in other words, shall cash the check for the amount designated thereon when he or she shall have fulilled all the conditions agreed to, and another condition being that the said company shall have the right to pay such rebate at any time such ticket is presented for transportation or for validation. rlhe check. being negotiable can be cashed by the purchaser at the completion of a trip either at the ofiice issuing the same or at any commercial bank. If the purchaser should decide to abandon his trip at any point, he may cash the companys check; but he can not make further use of the ticket, as the detachment of the check therefrom renders the same void. Upon presenting the ticket to the conductor he detaches the going-tracer and the passage-coupon directly above the said tracer, which entitles the passenger to the trip over the Lehigh Valley railway to Philadelphia. By means of the tracer he can determine whether the passenger is on the right train and may note any remarks which may have been written thereon by the agent. When Philadelphia is reached, the conductor delivers his tracers, or causes the same to be delivered, to the conductor of the connecting train, or to the conductor of the first train leaving for the destination over the Baltimore and Ohio railway, the connecting-road. This prevents the possibility of the passenger disposing of the balance of his ticket, as the same is only honored on the train or trains carrying the tracer, and there is nothing on the ticket to denote the train on which the tracer is. Therefore, even though sufiicient time be allowed to sell the balance of the ticket to a ticketbroker before entering upon the second portion of the trip, the broker would not purchase the ticket, as he has no means of knowing on which train it would be honored, and the party who should desire to purchase a ticket from the ticket-broker would also refuse to purchase, since he not only must accept the brokers statement as truth, but he knows that the broker has no means of knowing on which train the corresponding tracer will be, except what information may have been imparted to him by the party selling the ticket. The slight saving in cost will not warrant the purchase of the ticket Linder the attendant diiiiculties and the further chance of committing forgery should the trip he continued after starting, as will be hereinafter explained. On continuing the trip from Philadelphia to Tashington over the Baltimore and Ohio railway the conductor of the train will take up the passage-coupon for that portion of the going-trip and will compare the same with the corresponding tracer, which he is in possession of. Should he find that he has no tracer to correspond to the number and destination of the passage-coupon and he is satisfied that the party presenting the ticket is not the original purchaser, he can take up the ticket, and should he, even though in possession of the corresponding tracerj for any reason believe that the party presenting the ticket is not the original purchaser he can cash the check and request the traveler to indorse the same, which he must necessarily do by signing the name of the party mentioned on the face of the check to whom the same is payable, which, if not his own name, would make him liable for receiving money by forging another partys name. Then the conductor cashes a check on the going portion of the trip, he will forward the same to the joint agency or the ticket agent at the point of destination, who will note the same, and when the return portion of the ticket is presented for validation without the check he will refer to his memorandum to ascertain whether the check has been cashed, and, if so, will validate the ticket. If the ticket is presented to the conductor by the original purchaser, he reaches his destination with the negotiable cheek still attached to the ticket, and the return-tracer at the bottom of the same, all portions below the return-tracer having been detached on the going portion of the trip. The ticket, like all return-tickets, is limited to a certain period at or before the expiration ol"l which the return-trip must be entered upon. The

limit may be punched, marked, or otherwise noted upon the ticket, as may be desired.

Before entering upon the return trip the ticket must be validated at the joint agency, such as may be established by the passenger ing the ticket being the original purchaser of the same, he may cash the companys rebatecheck, if not already cashed, and request the party to indorse the same, which indorsement and receipt of the money would be forgery should the party receiving the money not be the original purchaser. If, however, the agent is of the opinion that the party presenting the ticket for validation is the original purchaser, he does not cashy the check. At the same time the agent designates on the returntracer the destination, the sex-of the party, the number of the train, and the time the train leaves, and under Remarks the number of the baggage-check and other matter may be inserted, all of which may aid in detecting irregular travel. The agent then detaches the return-tracer and forwards the same to the conductor of the train designated thereon, and the trip must therefore be made on the said train. The lower passage-coupon is detached by the conductor on that portion of the trip from Washington to Philadelphia after he has determined that the ticket corresponds with one of the tracers forwarded to him, and

he in turn, on Varrival at Philadelphia, forwards the tracer to the conductor of the train on the connecting road, (the Lehigh 'Valley railroad,) and the passenger must therefore continue his trip on the connecting train or on the first train leaving the connecting-point. During the return trip any conductor or other authorized person may exercise the right to cash the rebate-check, if not already cashed, should he for any reason believe that the traveler is not the original purchaser. After the trip is completed and the rebate-check has' not been cashed by an authorized person the passenger may cash the same at the issuing ticket-office or at any bank. When cashed at or deposited in a bank, it is handled like all other checks, being in every respect a common negotiable check and is passed through the clearing-house in the usual manner.

By the use of the return-tracer the sale of the return portion of a ticket to a ticketbroker is prevented. The ticket is not salable, for the reason that the party purchasingthe ticket from the broker is compelled to sign the return-tracer and the signature must correspond with the signature beneath the'contract, and should the signature vary in any particular the agent will exercise theA right to demand an indorsement of the check andpay the party presenting the ticket the amount stated on the face thereof. A party who is the truth of the same, as the agent on validating the ticket detaches the return-tracer, which is theonly portion of the ticket having the information, and forwards the same to the conductor of the train designated thereon. A' prospective purchaser will not accept the statement of the brokerregarding the number of the train designated on the detached returntracer or the time of departure of such train, particularly'since he knowsthat the latter has no positive means of knowing, and consequently the broker will not purchase unsalable tickets. Furthermore, the conductor is a bar-A rier and may exercise his right to cash the check if not already cashed, and a person purchasing a ticket of this kind from a ticketbroker will invariably be detected in the attempt to travel on another persons ticket.

The signing of the agents stub by the purchaser is an additional safeguard to prevent the sale of the return portion of the ticket to a-broker, who might otherwise purchase the ticket for a small amount above the value of the check or for at least the amount called for on the' check and if impossible to sell the ticket within the time limit would destroy the contract portion and coupons, indorse the check, and cash the same at a bank. With the signature of the purchaser on the agents stub, however, the indorsement can be compared when the check enters the ofiice lof the audi- IOO tor of the road, and the indorser, if not the and prosecuted. l

When the destination of the return trip is designated on thelast passage-coupon o'f such trip, which may or may not be the startingpoint, the ticket is used as above described; but I provide an additional safeguard by omitting the destination of the return trip from such coupon, as shown inthe drawings. In such cases the destination of the return portion of the trip, which is generally the starting-point, must be lnoted upon the return-r. tracer at the issuing oflice, and provi'sron can be made to compel a party to check his baggage, if any, before having the return portion of the ticket validated, as the passage coupon or coupons do not disclose the destination and the baggageman would have no means of determining to what point the baggage may be checked should the return-tracer be detached. It furthermore compels the passenger to identify himself by the baggage-check in addition IIO toidentiiicationby signature should the agent so desire, and after validation and detachment of the return-tracer by the agent the ticket is not salable, as there is no destination on the coupons and it would be impossible to determine what the destination is. Furthermore, it provides means whereby the conductor may easily determine if the passenger traveling on the ticket is the original purchaser, as he is in possession of the corresponding tracer bearing the destination and may wish to ascertain if the passenger knows what the destination is.

The original purchaser will of course know when he reaches his destination; but a wrongful holder of the ticket can only depend on what the ticket-broker says, who must receive his information from the original purchaser without any evidence to prove the statement made by him.

Itis to be noted that the passage portion of the ticket, whether regular or in the form of a pass, can be used with any of the other portions of the ticket, and in some instances the use of the rebate-check in connection with the pass is very desirable.

It is obvious that this ticket can be used on one road or that it can be extended to embrace more than two roads; but I have shown and described its use as applied to two connecting roads.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is l. A railway-ticket bearing the signature of the purchaser and comprising a passage portion, a contract portion,A and a check made payable to the order of the purchaser or intended user.

2. A railway-ticket comprising a passage portion and bearing the name of the purchaser, and a check made payable to the order of the purchaser and being connected to said passage portion, substantially as set forth.

3. A railway-ticket bearing the signature of the purchaser on some part thereoil and having a passage portion, and a contract portion embodying conditions whereby the purchaser is to receive a rebateon his completing the trip and whereby the user of the ticket is required to accept said rebate at any time during transit at the option of the transportation company and whereby the user is also required to receipt by signature for said rebate.

4. -A railway-ticket comprising a passage portion and bearing the name of the purchaser, and a check made payable to the order of the purchaser and having an appropriately-designated signature-blau k for the signature of the payee.

5. A railway-ticket bearing the purchasers signature on some part thereof and having a passage portion, and a connected cheek made payable to the order of the purchaser, both the check and the passage portion having corresponding identification characters.

6. A railway-ticket comprising a passage portion and bearing the name of the purchaser, and a check made payable to the purchaser and being separated from said passage portion by a weakened. line.

7. A railway-ticket comprising a passage portion, and a tracer-coupon connected thereto and bearing inscription directing the ticket or joint agent to detach the same and deliver to the conductor of the train on which the ticket is to be used, as and for the purpose described.

8. A railway-ticket having a passage portion, and a tracer-coupon connected to said passage portion and bearing inscription directing the ticket or joint agent to detach said tracer-coupon from the passage portion and deliver the same to thc conductor of the outgoing train, said tracer-coupon bearing also-inscription directing the conductor oi the outgoing train to deliver said tracer-coupon to the conductorof a connecting train, as and for the purpose described.

9. A railway-ticket bearing the purchascrs signature on some part thercoil and comprising going and return passage coupons and a return tracer-coupon7 bearing inscription directing the ticket or joint agent to detach the same and deliver to the conductor o1 the outgoing return-train, said tracer-coupon having also an appropriately-designated purchase1"ssignature blank thereon,substantially as set forth.

lO. A railway-ticket bearing the pu rchasers signature on some part thereolE and comprising going and return passage coupons and a return tracer-coupon bearing inscription directing the ticket or joint agent to detach the same and deliver to the conductor oi the outgoing return-train, said y"tracer-coupon having also an appropriately-designated purchase1"s-signature blank and inscription directing the conductor of the outgoing returntrain to deliver the same to the conductor of the connecting train, as and for the purpose described.

ll. A railway-ticket comprising a contract portion, going and vreturn passage coupons, a going tracer-coupon, and a return tracercoupon, both tracer-coupons having inscription directing the tracer-coupons to be delivered to the successive oliicials validating the ticket and accepting the passage-coupons for travel.

12. A railway-ticket bearing the purchasers signature and comprising a passage portion, a check, and a tracer-coupon, bearing inscription directing the ticket or joint agent to deliver the said "tracer-coupon to the conductor ot' the outgoing train, as and for the purpose described.

13. A railway-ticket comprising a passage portion, a cheek connected thereto and having an appropriatelydesignated signatureblank to receive the indorselnent ol the trav- IOC eler, and a contract portion having conditions noted thereon allowing any authorized oiiicial of the .transportation company issuing the ticket or any authorized official of any coperating company to cash said check at any time and at any point in transit, as and for the purpose set forth.

14. A railway-ticket comprising a passage portion, a check, and a contract portion having conditions noted thereon allowing the drawer or any authorizedparty thereof to cash said check at any time and at any point in transit, said check having also inscription thereon noting that the payment of the same is made in consideration of the original purchaser having complied with the conditions in the said contract portion ofthe ticket, as and for the purpose set forth.

15. A railway-ticket comprising a passage portion, and al connected check `drawn by the company issuing said tick'et and made payable to the purchaser, said check having an appropriately-designated purchasers-signature blank to receive the endorsement of the traveler, as and for the'purpose described.

16. A railway-ticket comprising a' passage portion, a connected check, a contract portion bearing inscription providing for the payment of said check on completion of the trip or at any time or place during transit at the option of the drawer, said check bearing inscription thereon noting that payment is to be made in consideration of thel purchaser having complied with the conditions in the said contract portion of the ticket, substantially as set forth. n b

17. A railway -ticket comprising a goingpassage coupon, a return-passage coupon having the place of destination omitted, a going tracer-coupon, and a return tracer-coupon, bearingtheplace of destination, said going tracer -coupon having inscription directing the conductor of the train leaving the starting-point to deliver the same to the conductor of the connecting train and the return tracer-coupon having inscription directing the ticket or joint agent to detach and deliver 'the same to the conductor of the outgoing return-train, as and for the purpose described.

18. railway-ticket having a contract portion at its upper end, areturn-passage portion directly beneath said contract portion, a return tracer-coupon beneath said returnpassage portion, a going-passage portion beneath said return tracer-coupon, and a going tracer-coupon beneath. said going-passage portion, said tracer-coupons having each inscription thereon denoting its use `during transit to trace their respective passage 'f portions of the ticket, and the'return tracercoupon having additional inscriptionrequiring its detachment by the ticket or joint agent to be forwarded by him to the conductor of the outgoing train, as and for the purpose described.

' 19. A railway-ticket comprising a passage portion and a tracer-coupom both having corresponding` indentifying characters and f responding identification characters and the said check having an appropriately-designated signature-blank on its rear face.

21. A railWay-ticketbearing the signature of the intended user and comprising a passage portion anda check made payable to the order of the intended user, said check and passage portion being connected.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS A. CALLAHAN.

Vlitnesses:

EMIL NEUHART, CHAs. F. BURKHART. 

